Reiter's Mobile TV Report

YouTube apprehensive about losing ground in live streaming cellular video services?

Some of Google’s YouTube employees are concerned their company is falling behind in offering services for live streaming videos, especially live cellular streaming, writes blogger Robert Scoble, who is managing director at Fast Company TV.

Robert was sitting in the San Jose Convention Center during a Google sales and operations meeting when he began talking to some YouTube engineers about live streaming services.  Robert writes:  “They are very aware they are getting outrun by streaming services like Ustream, Stickam, Justin.tv. 

“They are more worried about cell phone videos like Qik, Flixwagon, Bambuser [see my weblog entry below] and Kyte.tv.  They tell me they see tons of people at concerts using their cell phones to record video and know that’s a big market that they’ll need to serve.”

Not unaware

Robert says YouTube is aware of its lack of innovation in this area and is working to rectify the situation.  As I’ve written many times in this weblog, live streaming cellular video is revolutionary. 

The cellular operators have been slow to promote this trend (concerned about too much bandwidth use?).  But it’s a revolutionary application, nonetheless. 

If YouTube enters this market in a big way — hopefully, with high quality streaming — it could stimulate demand and generate more publicity.

Swedish-based Bambuser offers live cellular video, Webcam streaming

While surfing around the Internet I found Neville Hobson’s weblog that pointed out a relatively new service for streaming live cellular and Webcam videos:  Bambuser (see below).

Shame on me for not knowing it sooner (or reading about it and completely forgetting about it!).  The Bambuser site doesn’t have too much information about the company — a problem with many Web sites where the technologists are so busy developing the product that they don’t have the time to provide or realize the importance of providing more information.

However, it appears that Bambuser is based out of Sweden.  Hobson’s weblog article, which discusses a “Disruptive Media” conference, says Bambuser was used to stream the conference and was the service-of-choice rather than the U.S.-centric Qik, about which I’ve been writing so much.

Bambuser has a blog, from which I found a video about the service on an Ericsson Web site.  So, Bambuser is one more live streaming cellular video service I need to keep an eye on.

Sacramento Bee posts both Qik, digital recorder videos of Olympic torch bearers

From Bhaskar Roy’s excellent corporate weblog for Qik (the company he co-founded), I see that The Sacramento Bee has been using Qik to post camera phone videos to its Web site as well as traditional camcorder videos, based on an article in journalism.co.uk.

The newspaper used Qik to record the Olympic torch bearers in San Francisco, including the pro-Tibet/anti-China protesters (see below).

The videos on Qik (such as one below) may be embedded in other Web sites and weblogs, as is common with video sharing sites.  However, videos on The Sacramento Bee’s own video site, may not be embedded.  (At least, I don’t see a URL for embedding.)

I hope this is just a technological “problem,” but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the result of the newspaper’s specific decision.  It doesn’t make sense not to allow embedding because it certainly provides publicity for The Bee, which isn’t particularly well known (at least outside of California and journalism circles).

<em>Bee</em>’s ramifications 

There are at least two extremely interesting aspects of the “Bee’s” actions: 

1.  The reporter attached his camera phone to his digital video recorder so he could shoot both the Qik streams quickly (no pun intended!) for posting videos and higher quality videos for posting afterwards.

2.  The Sacramento Bee is a newspaper that’s enhancing its Web site’s value with videos.  As a former full time journalist who does some freelance writing as well as being a full time wireless data consultant, I analyze how camera phones are helping to revolutionize the journalism business. 

The future of journalism is the “multimedia reporter” who will have to write the news, speak the news (with podcasts) and shoot the news (with videos).

Qik versus TV cameras

Non-video-oriented news organizations — newspapers, magazines, newsletters, radio stations — have to look at their businesses as “news,” which is not restricted to the way it’s presented.  Journalism.co.uk writes that The Sacramento Bee’s “reporters were able broadcast moving images as events unfolded — effectively replicating a live TV news service at a fraction of the cost and with the flexibility to move.”

Well, there is a difference in the quality of streaming cellular videos and using the resources of a television station.  There’s a reason TV stations purchase camera lenses for thousands of dollars (sometimes more than $10,000) and employ a “sound man” to ensure the audio is a good as possible. 

However, many print and radio news companies already are redesigning and revitalizing their methods to offer podcasts and videos, although shrinking profits is making the process extremely difficult.  (Update (4/20/08):  To learn about a national radio network that’s using videos, check out my PodCampDC article in my “Wireless Muse” weblog.)

Revolutionary, for cellular operators, too

I’ve been writing — and will continue to write — about the revolutionary aspects of live cellular video streaming.  And, it’s not just for news organizations.  The ramifications for society — with anyone being able to stream live videos — are significant.

Live cellular video streaming also will be a huge boon to cellular operators.  It will spark sales of flat monthly rate plans for unlimited use as consumers and businesses find new ways to take advantage of the technology.  However, the operators are leery of live streaming.

One reason is they would prefer subscribers purchase unlimited-use plans, and then not use them much!  The operators don’t want to invest in more cellular towers and backhaul infrastructure to accommodate dramatic increases in data usage — and many people streaming lots of videos certainly can increase data transmissions.

Another reason operators are leery is because they haven’t figured out (at least in the United States) how to make gobs of money from live streaming video.  As a result, they aren’t promoting it.  And, the operators do an absolutely awful job of educating subscribers about the many applications they offer, once consumers are roped into two-year contracts.

Good news

The good news, though, is regardless of the operators’ lethargy, cellular users — both kids and, increasingly, news organizations — are beginning to “get” this new technology.

MediaFLO interactive advertising should be just the start of mobile TV interactivity

During the CTIA’s Wireless 2008 conference in Las Vegas I spoke to Michael Coad, vice president of product management at Qualcomm, about Qualcomm’s MediaFLO mobile television service.  The most interesting aspect of the conversation was when Coad briefly discussed mobile TV interactivity.

He noted how advertisements on MediaFLO could include interactive elements, such as the ability to click on links to obtain more information about products or order them immediately.  I asked whether the program being watched would pause or end when viewer wanted additional information, and Coad said viewers could have a choice.

One of the potential disadvantages for this type of interactivity via today’s MediaFLO programs is because the shows stream.  They aren’t archived on demand, so if you pause the show to view commercial information and then return, you don’t begin watching where you left off.  Perhaps information could be downloaded in the background into another file or browser window.

Where’s the interactivity innovation?

The concept of interactive advertising isn’t new, although it hasn’t been developed much for mobile TV.  Interactive advertising could be an important component of mobile TV advertising, but interactivity in general could be a big deal for mobile TV.

I haven’t seen much, if any, innovation on MediaFLO, except for the relatively good technical quality.  MediaFLO programs typically are technically superior to 3G transmissions, with much less stuttering and pixelation compared to 3G.

But from the standpoint of innovative programs or innovative television techniques, I haven’t seen any.  MediaFLO offers the same junky programs as on traditional TV which, frankly, is sort of its idea:  You may view the same programs on your phone as on your TV set, although the times are often different.

Streaming and on-demand needed

To be fair, MediaFLO is a distribution and advertising platform rather than a mobile TV production company.  MediaFLO is part of the solution with good (technical) quality streaming programs, but it’s only one part. 

The future of mobile TV will be broadcasting programs that are different than existing shows and aimed at specific audiences, with varying lengths of programs and on a wide variety of subjects.  This niche-market programming is much more easily achieved via video on demand (VOD), which is one reason why VOD should continue to play significant role in mobile TV.

AT&T to offer full length Sony movies for new MediaFLO mobile TV channel

When AT&T launches its Qualcomm MediaFLO mobile television service in May, it will offer an exclusive Sony channel featuring full length movies, according to The Hollywood Reporter.  AT&T is launching two exclusive channels in addition to the eight channels currently available from Verizon Wireless’ MediaFLO V CAST Mobile TV service.

AT&T hasn’t announced the second of the two exclusive channels.

Under the AT&T deal with Sony Pictures Television, the channel will be called PIX.  The channel will feature movies from Sony companies, including Columbia, TriStar, Screen Gems and Sony Classics, The Hollywood Reporter says.  Movies will include “Bugsy,” “Ghostbusters,” “Memento,” “Philadelphia,” “Karate Kid,” “Layer Cake,” “A League of their Own,” “Kung Fu Hustle,” “Resident Evil,” “In The Line of Fire,” “Groundhog Day,” “Stand By Me,” “Fisher King” and “Roxanne,” Sony says.

Sony doesn’t necessarily expect MediaFLO subscribers to watch entire movies from start to finish, says Eric Berger, vice president of mobile entertainment at Sony Pictures Television.  Berger notes in the article that it’s more likely people who have already seen the entire movie on another screen (movie theater, home TV, etc.) will watch parts of it on their phone.

Viewing habits

It will be very interesting to see how AT&T’s mobile TV subscribers view the Sony channel.  Many analysts believe the future of mobile TV will be with brief, two or three minute clips, rather than longer programs.  AT&T will offer at least two mobile TV phones when the service is launched, including the LG Vu (see below).

Sprint already offers full length movies for one of its extra-cost mobile TV channels.  I’ve always said — and written — that people will watch longer programs on their phones, but it depends on offering the type of handsets that foster longer viewing times.

Sony has actively explored the wireless/portable environment in addition to synergies with other media.  I wrote in “Mobi-lize” about “Afterworld,” a 130–episode animated series that also is shown on television and will be released as a game in July.  Sony is distributing “Afterworld” internationally, and the same company that produced the series is working on another show — that Sony also is exploring for its multiplatform synergies.

AT&T to launch Qualcomm's MediaFLO mobile TV in May

AT&T today says it will offer its long-delayed mobile television service, based on Qualcomm’s MediaFLO, in May, according to CNN.

The service, which was supposed to launch last year, will include the eight “standard” MediaFLO channels plus two additional channels, that AT&T isn’t discussing.  AT&T will offer at least two mobile TV phones, the LG Vu and the Samsung Access.

AT&T, like Verizon Wireless, which launched MediaFLO service last year, is dependent upon Qualcomm’s network of towers, not existing cellular 3G towers.  When AT&T’s service is available, about 55 MediaFLO markets should be available.

Telecommunications expert Anne Schelle named director of Open Mobile Video Coalition

A long-time telecommunications expert, Anne Schelle, has been named executive director of the Open Mobile Video Coalition, according to the press release.

The Coalition promotes the development of mobile digital television by the traditional TV broadcasters.  The group’s goal is create a mobile TV service transmitted by broadcasters rather than by using cellular networks and their mobile TV protocols.

I knew Anne years ago when she began working at a lobbyist at Telocator Network of America, the first association for the independent (non-phone company) providers of public paging and mobile telephone (then called radiotelephone) services.  Telocator (which later became the Personal Communications Industry Association – PCIA) was the association for consumer mobile communications.  (Check out an old Time article about mobile communications, when I was editor, among other responsibilities, of Telocator magazine.)

Anne’s telecom positions

Since Telocator, Anne has been involved in a variety of telecommunications-related companies.  She was vice president of external relations at American Personal Communications (the second carrier in the country to offer cellular service; I knew the company’s executives very well), co-founder of xDSL Networks for broadband Internet access and president of the telecommunications consulting company Tasman Technologies.

Most recently she was a partner at the consulting company of Actium Advisors.

Good luck Anne in your new position.

More people in 2008 to purchase multimedia cellular phones than TV sets

More people this year will purchase multimedia cellular phones — that can play music and videos and access the Web — than purchase television sets, according to “Mobile Media 2008:  The Third Screen for Entertainment” sold by Research and Markets.  The research report says 300 million people will buy multimedia phones in 2008.

According to the report, Nokia says 25 percent of entertainment on mobile devices will come from online communities.  Currently, 3.3 billion people have cellular phones.

Los Angeles Times examines live cellular streaming; Qik with dying relative

The Los Angeles Times reports about live streaming cellular video.  Although the article focuses on technology entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, I was more interested in the comments from Laura Fitton about how she used Qik when her grandmother was dying.

Fitton, a consultant in public speaking, visited her paternal grandmother, who was dying in Massachusetts at a hospice on Cape Cod.  Her grandmother was given two weeks to live, and Fitton’s father in Florida wasn’t sure whether he should immediately fly to the hospice.

Fitton, who has a Qik feed (see left), aimed her camera phone at her grandmother so her father could see his mother at the hospice.  “It almost gave him a chance to sit with her awhile and start to come to terms with what he had to come and do,” Fitton says in the article.

Her father decided to fly to the Cape and saw his mother the following day.  She died less than a day later.  “’Time was more of the essence than anyone knew,’ Fitton said, and so the video session ‘really made a difference in our lives,’” the Los Angeles Times reports.

The power of personal live streaming

Many techies use their phones to interview other techies, to stream conferences and to show their lunches and dinners.  That’s fine, and there can be a lot of value with that. 

But Fitton’s live streaming dramatically highlights the power of this technology for personal use.  It’s applications like Fitton’s — not one more lame, blurry, noisy party video — that helps to illustrate how live streaming cellular video is revolutionary.

Steve Garfield provides suggestions about, reasons for live streaming cellular videos

Journalist Steve Garfield, a big proponent of using cellular phones for transmitting live videos, provides advice about how to get started with cellular streaming as well as lots of information about video blogging.

On March 18, Bhaskar Roy, co-founder and vice president of marketing at Qik, posted a video of Garfield discussing live streaming cellular video during a meeting of the New England Press Association (see below).

In addition, Garfield recently wrote in one of his weblogs a brief, basic guide to getting starting streaming cellular videos.  In his “Three Steps to LIVE Mobile Broadcasting,” (see below) Garfield writes that the best handset for streaming cellular video is Nokia’s N95–3.

Best cellular video phone?

He’s quite likely correct.  I have the original version, the N95–1 (I guess the first model would be the “1”) and it has been considered one of the best, if not the best, for shooting cellular videos, streaming or otherwise.

However, courtesy of Nokia I recently received the new Nokia N82, which has a five megapixel camera (like the N95) and a Xenon flash (the N95 has an LCD flash).  Photos with the N82, especially when using a flash, are probably better than the N95’s, and I posted some photos in my new N82 photo album.

I posted only one N82 video — taken at night under poor lighting and when it was raining — but I wouldn’t be surprised if the N82 would take better videos than the N95.  With every generation of Nseries camera phones, Nokia typically enhances the imaging capabilities.  I’ll be posting more videos in the weeks to come.

Garfield writes in his weblog that he began video streaming using ComVU’s software and hosting service (that I also tested months ago).  He stopped using ComVU and is now testing Qik (that seems to be his favorite, so far) but also is testing other services — Flixwagon, Kyte.tv and Bambuser (I’m not familiar with Bambuser).

ComVU, Qik and Flixwagon offer live streaming videos from camera phones.  Kyte.tv has begun to actively develop mobile initiatives, but its live streaming mobile platform is still in the early stages (see below).  “Kyte Mobile Producer” is in private beta for Symbian Series 60 phones.

Video blogging guide

Garfield also has posted a guide to video blogging, that’s composed of — naturally enough — videos (see below).  Garfield and several other writers have developed the guide that has seven chapters, including: “Is Videoblogging News?”, “Ethics and Ownership” and “Vlogs as Citizen Media.”

The chapters are about four to five minutes and seem more for desktop video blogging rather than cellular.  I haven’t watched all of them, but they look useful and professionally edited.